Author Archives: brian

Torture IS an “American” Value: Reality Versus the Rhetoric

May 1, 2007 – 11:12 am

I became aware of torture as a U.S. policy in 1969 when I was serving as a USAF combat security officer working near Can Tho City in Viet Nam’s Mekong Delta. I was "informed" about the CIA’s Phong Dinh Province Interrogation Center (PIC) in Can Tho City and a POW camp near the Can Tho Army airfield where supposedly "significant members" of the VCI (Viet Cong Infrastructure) were taken for torture as part of the Phoenix "Pacification" Program.

Posted in The Most Dangerous of Rogue Nations: The United States, Challenging Traditional Patriotism | Comments (28)

9/11 & Bush are Distractions from a People’s Revolt from Below

April 1, 2007 – 2:18 pm

A Bit Of History

U.S.: "Empire of Liberty," Built Upon Three Holocausts

Posted in Envisioning Nonviolent Revolutionary Alternatives, Terrorism & Homeland Security | Comments (4)

Air Force “Ranger” Training Provokes Personal Moral Issues

March 1, 2007 – 6:09 am

Introductory Note: This essay, in its earlier version, received harsh critiques from former members of "Operation Safeside," the Air Force’s code name for its brief attempt to create a ranger-type unit during the years the United States was at war with Viet Nam, Cambodia, and Laos. There were four squadrons that comprised "Operation Safeside": the prototype 1041st, and the subsequent 821st, the 822nd, and the 823rd. The program was disbanded in 1970.

Posted in The Most Dangerous of Rogue Nations: The United States, Vietnam | Comments (6)

PTSD: Reality Versus Rhetoric

March 1, 2006 – 6:08 am

Published as "Reality vs. the Rhetoric:
Iraq Vets and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder"
on Counterpunch Weekend Edition, March 18 / 19, 2006

Posted in The Most Dangerous of Rogue Nations: The United States, Vietnam | Comments (94)

The War on Terror Requires Looking in the Mirror: British Playwright Harold Pinter Tells “Americans” the Truth about Ourselves

December 1, 2005 – 2:15 pm

The U.S.-led "war on terror" is the ultimate in hypocrisy and deceit. If the U.S. is serious about addressing the evil de jour, "terrorism," it must honestly look at itself and be prepared for a painful journey of healing, just as a chronic addict or drunk gets ready to endure the arduous 12-step program of recovery.

Posted in The Most Dangerous of Rogue Nations: The United States, Terrorism & Homeland Security | Comments (0)
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